“….I wouldn’t worry much about it. Your photographer should be be prepared to and be able to handle any lighting condition. I myself find the golden hour light pleasing for landscapes but not for portraits. The light is very flat and non directional = boring. And you know what they say, when the lighting looks flat, the model looks fat.

Many photographers prefer this time because it’s “easy” and they don’t have to deal with subject placement, shadows, reflectors, fill, or lug off camera lighting. For an event, yes the golden hour will result in better images because the photographer has limited control, but for a photosession, I don’t think it matters as long as the photographer knows what they are doing…”

That being said, I have seen a few natural light beginning photographers that refuse to book an appointment anytime but the golden hour because they don’t know how to handle midday sun.

Ours were at 10 AM I think but it was raining so it didnt really matter that it was that time of day! I would do them either really early morning or right before sunset – thats when the light is the best!

we started at about 1330 and finished up a bit after sunset (1800 at the time). checking the almanac can give you a good idea about where the sun will be if you’re looking for the golden hour. we liked the variation – we had the midday sun with a good amount of clouds for filter, which was great and we actually ended up picking our STD picture from the midday ones. However, the ones from the golden hour/sunset were absolutely my favourite – they will be the ones that cover our walls. I don’t think the lighting looks flat, nor do I think I look fat. You can obviously shoot at any time of the day for great pictures (I don’t think anyone was saying otherwise so saying that people are being brainwashed is pretty condescending). My dad has always enjoyed shooting during the golden hour and it’s the aesthetic that I like as well. I think that’s what most people are getting at with their time suggestions.

@elliestan: I made that statement because it seems that many people’s photographers have been telling them that lately and in my option it isn’t true. There is an advantage to shooting later in the day that you can get effects like sunflare or sunsets, but other than that, the lighting is very flat and even. As a photographer, it’s the easiest time of day to shoot, you don’t really have to pay attention to shadows, don’t have to deal with reflector’s, where the light source is, bringing portable lighting with you for fill, and positioning your subjects,etc. I believe it’s this reason why a lot of photographers push that time. I read message boards, there are photographers death scared of midday sun because they don’t know how to handle it. All I am saying is that if you have a real professional photographer, they can work in any condition so don’t feel you have to accommodate a certain time frame if it’s inconvenient for you.

I don’t think you understand what I mean when I say “flat lighting.” Directional lighting shows more dimension on the subject and makes for a more interesting composition and better looking subject. If this wasn’t the case, then in the studio they would just blast you head on with one large light which you never see happen I don’t like posting images that belong to others and am not allowed to post my own to show an example, so I guess the point is moot……

Again, there is nothing wrong with shooting during those times, I just hate to see when photographers push it as the “best” time.

@USER876:I get what you meant by flat, but you said that it = boring and makes the model look fat, and that just wasn’t the case for me. I agree that it’s more dependant on your photographer’s quality. She already said she trusts hers and is asking when us non-photographers took them. I hardly think that’s us pushing some golden hour/early morning agenda, that’s just a personal opinion and preference (as a PP said, she really wanted light flares). sorry, I still think it’s condescending to tell another bee that her opinion is because of brainwashing.

We did ours in May as well and I think we met at 6pm. Our photog also told us that early morning, like 9 or 10 am, or evening would be better due to the lighting. Those are also the cooler parts of the day, so we were happy to go along with that.

@elliestan: I am not referencing your photos in my comments, and I am not going to critique them either. Most times you don’t know what you are missing until you see it. I am posting the following example I found from lumatouch:

Around 2 hours before sunset, the sun is high enough to get some rim light (on the hair, or be useful,etc), but after that, it’s usually shielded by tree’s. The resulting light is very predictable, constant, AND FLAT (like the image on the left). I suppose most people don’t notice it, but when you see directional light the images just look better.